A new study that analyzed 710,000 children concluded that the birth order favors those who come in the middle: they are more humble and honest.
The younger brothers may disagree, but the middle brothers are more friendly, more humble and more honest. The conclusion is from a study in the December edition in PNASthe magazine of the US National Academy of Sciences.
The investigation was conducted by psychologists Michael Ashton e Kibeom Leefrom the Canadian universities of Brock and Calgary.
These researchers are creators of HEXACO PERSONALITY ANALYSIS MODELwhich evaluates six main facets: Honesty-Humility (H), Emotivity (E), Extroversion (x), APPEALABILITY (A), Conscientiousness (C) and Opening to Experience (O).
Researchers used data from site where anyone can do a personality test to find out their position in this model.
Children of the middle: more pleasant and cooperative
The children of the middle (those who have at least one older and one younger brother) higher score in honesty-humanity and sympathyfollowed by the younger ones, the firstborn and, finally, the unique children.
In practical terms, tend to avoid manipulationthey show little interest in wealth and luxury and are more likely to forgive and cooperate with the others.
The study also concluded that The number of brothers makes a difference.
The bigger the family, the higher the scores are For these positive characteristics. In numerous families, cooperation is not optional, but a Need for daily lifewhat would forge this long -term personality trait, the researchers point out.
“When you have more brothers, you need to cooperate more oftenInstead of acting according to selfish preferences, ”the researchers explained to the investigators.
In the study were also taken into account other factors, such as the religionto which they attributed about 25% of observed differences – Especially because religious families tend to be larger.
However, the great conclusion is that birth order and dimension of the family continue to be factors determinant.
“Eternal question” remains open
Curiosity on the subject is not new, but previous investigations had not found indicators that the birth order had effectively an impact on personality.
Although Ashton and Lee’s analysis offers a new perspective due to the size of his sample, with 710,000 participants, the authors themselves point out that further studies will be needed to confirm this dynamic of the children of the environment.
As they referred to live science, the field of investigation into the order of birth is full of contradictory conclusions and stereotypes ranging from the brilliant firstborn to the spoiled youngest and the mediator son.
A 2015 review in PNAS already warned of this complexity: after two decades of investigation, The results varied Between strong correlations and the absence of any pattern, with the aggravation of many studies if they have based on limited samples.
